Minority Students Get a Taste of Campus Life Thanks to Shafer Scholarships

Six students from New Haven public schools recently completed a Yale summer program that fosters academic and personal growth among the city's minority students by enabling them to experience college life at one of the world's great universities, thanks to a scholarship provided by a Hillhouse High School and Yale alumnus.

Six students from New Haven public schools recently completed a Yale summer program that fosters academic and personal growth among the city’s minority students by enabling them to experience college life at one of the world’s great universities, thanks to a scholarship provided by a Hillhouse High School and Yale alumnus.

The Shafer Family of New Haven has provided resources since 1980 to fund a number of scholarships for Yale summer programs. In 1991, Mark Shafer, a New Haven native, established an endowment that makes it possible for five or six New Haven minority high school students to attend Yale programs each summer.

These students apply to the program through the guidance counselors of their schools. Yale bases its admission decisions on the students’ academic achievement and leadership potential. The scholarships include full tuition for two 5-week regular Yale College courses during the summer, room and board to live on-campus in one of Yale’s residential colleges, and $450 for books and a general spending allowance.

This year, 4 young women and 2 young men are enrolled in the program. The men are African-American residents of New Haven. One female student hails from Nigeria and one is of Puerto Rican descent. The other four students are African-American and have been New Haven residents for most of their lives.

This year’s students are: Olafemi Hunter, Miriam Menacherry and Nneoma Nwachuku - Hill Regional Career Magnet High School; Jonathan Hill and Jayne Penn - James Hillhouse High School; and Selena Santiago - Wilbur Cross High School.

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